There is an increasing need to protect high value consumer products from being counterfeited. One method to insure the supply chain from product manufacturing through retail sale is to authenticate the product throughout the supply chain. Most counterfeiting occurs in the distribution chain at the wholesaler and distribution points. The track and trace requires item level identification.
One example of authentication that is being implemented in the pharmaceutical industry is referred to as e-pedigree. An e-pedigree is an electronic record that accompanies each pharmaceutical product from point of manufacturing to point of sale. Radio frequency identification devices (RFID's) may be applied to each unit package to facilitate authentication. The RFID's provide a means to read and write information to each unit package. The hardware and software infrastructure required in the supply chain to enable RFID technology is costly and sophisticated. The infrastructure is a significant barrier to widespread use of RFID technology for authentication.
Other, lower cost identification technologies such as bar-codes, 2-D bar-codes are available that provide a read-only capability. These devices are generally lower cost and require less sophisticated infrastructure. However, bar-codes typically are located on the outside of the package to be read and therefore are more easy to counterfeit.
Non-visual authentication methods are needed that: (1) are reliable, (2) tamper evident, and (3) can be seamlessly integrated into the package.